Cambodian journalist found dead in his own car

Bangkok, September 12, 2012--Cambodian authorities must
immediately investigate the murder of a journalist who was found with ax wounds
in the trunk of his car on Tuesday, less than a week after he had exposed an
alleged military connection to the illicit timber trade, the Committee to
Protect Journalists said today.

The body of Hang Serei Odom, a reporter for the Khmer-language
Virakchun Khmer Daily newspaper, was
found in his car at a cashew plantation in the O'Chum district of northeastern
Ratanakiri province, according to news reports. The journalist's wife had
reported him missing after he failed to return from an appointment on Sunday,
news reports said.

The Cambodia Daily
quoted local police chief Song Bunthanorm as saying that Hang Serei Odom had
been hit in the front and back of the head with an ax. The official said at least
two people were involved in the murder, the report said. No suspects were
immediately identified.

Hang Serei Odom reported frequently on illegal logging
activities in Ratanakiri province, according to news reports citing the editor
of Virakchun Khmer Daily. In a
September 6 report, he had alleged that a provincial military police officer
was involved in the illicit timber trade and had used military vehicles to
smuggle illegally cut logs, according to news reports.

Despite an official ban on timber exports, illegal logging
activities are rife in Cambodia, according to independent environmental
groups. News reporting on the illegal trade is considered highly sensitive
and has proven to be extremely dangerous for both local and foreign
journalists, according to CPJ research.

"The brutal murder of Hang Serei Odom underscores the grave
risks Cambodian reporters face," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast
Asia representative. "Prime Minister Hun Sen must make a stronger commitment to
protecting journalists and bringing those who attack reporters to justice. To
date, his record on both scores is sorely lacking."

In April, military police shot
dead environmental activist Chut Wutty
while he was leading two Cambodia Daily
journalists to a site in a protected forest in Koh Kong province where alleged
illegal logging was taking place. Nobody has been brought to account for the
activist's murder.

For more data and analysis on Cambodia,
visit CPJ's Cambodia page here.